Ebola’s hidden victims

In 2014, the world watched in horror as Ebola rampaged through West Africa, killing 11,000 people. No one knew a rise in sexual violence and teenage pregnancies would follow the deadly outbreak

WHEN EBOLA RAGED through Sierra Leone, schools closed and public life ground to a halt. But it was 17-year-old Juliet’s* decision to stay at home – where she thought she was safe – that put her in danger. ‘One day, my mum had gone out and I was home alone,’ she tells Grazia. ‘A neighbour came into my home and raped me. I was shouting for help but no one was around to hear my cries. It was the most terrifying moment of my life.’ Later, Juliet found out she was pregnant.

Sexual violence against girls increased dramatically during the year-long Ebola epidemic and brought with it a surge of an estimated 20,000 teenage pregnancies. It’s thought this was a result of girls being outside the protective classroom environment during the nine-month school closure.

‘I was very scared during my pregnancy as I was afraid my baby would be born with Ebola,’ Juliet says. ‘The man threatened to kill me if I told anyone and said he would hurt me so badly that it would get rid of the baby. I told my mum and she reported him but no one has seen him since that day.’

Schools reopened in April 2015 but Juliet was not allowed to attend – pregnant girls are excluded because the government thinks they will serve as a ‘negative influence to innocent girls’.

Margaret Tucker, health programme manager at Save the Children, says the reasons for the spike in teenage pregnancies are varied and complex. ‘Children were much more vulnerable to sexual violence while home alone or staying with relatives away from the family home, when the schools were closed. There was also a rise in transactional sex for food and money.’

She explains being a teenage mother outside of marriage leads to many girls being stigmatised. ‘These girls often have to drop out of school and this damages their future livelihoods.’

At the end of 2015, Juliet gave birth to her baby, Marie*. When Marie was two months old, Juliet went back to school to finish her education, but changed schools so her new peers wouldn’t know she had given birth. She also started attending a young mothers’ community group. ‘We’re all around the same age, all got pregnant during Ebola and now have young children,’ Juliet says. ‘Marie is the light of my life. But I don’t want anyone at school to know about her as they’ll judge me.’

The Every Last Child campaign helps provide young mothers’ support groups, counselling and access to health and reproductive services. Visit savethechildren.org.uk